Burying the Hatchet
by RainMirror
Summary: Rumpelstiltskin has always thought of himself as a coward, but tonight he needs to be brave. Tonight he needs to bury the hatchet. Tonight, he needs to talk to his father-in-law!


Burying the Hatchet

Rumpelstiltskin carefully entered the front door to Granny's diner, warily eyeing its few patrons. It was almost midnight on a cold, wintery Wednesday, so it took barely seconds to determine that there was no immediate threat. Not like anyone would actually try something. The whole town knew that the scary Mr. Gold was really the much scarier Rumpelstiltskin! Still, it never hurt to be cautious and considering what he was currently carrying, it was far better to be safe than sorry.

He made his way to the corner booth, grimacing at anyone who dared look his way. At this time of night there was no cook grilling and frying in the kitchen; only desserts and drinks (both hot and alcoholic) were being served and the few customers there were far more interested in drinking away their own problems than wondering what the mysterious deal maker was up to tonight.

He carefully placed his precious package on the table, away from prying eyes, and took the seat facing the door, his back protected by the walls. He now had the perfect angle to watch the comings and goings of the diner. He caught Ruby's eye as she served the grumpy dwarf another beer. It looked like the janitor's tentative relationship with the nun/fairy-in-training was not going well. The insufferable Blue Mosquito liked to stick her nose into other people's business far too often, he thought.

"Mr. Gold!" Ruby squealed as she reached his table. "Is that…?"

"Yes, dear, it is and I would appreciate if you kept your voice down," he growled. "I'll have coffee, please. And lots of it."

Ruby, also known as Red, skipped towards the counter in her high heels. She had dispensed with the revealing outfits soon after the curse was broken but continued to wear her signature color. Rumpelstiltskin couldn't help but admire the changes in her over the last several months. Regina had taken a perverse joy in turning all the strong willed women of the Enchanted Forest into meek, insecure shadows of themselves. But that was changing.

If there's one thing he had no use for, it was weak women. He preferred them with a bit of a backbone. Most men claimed they could never be married to a woman who was braver or smarter than they were. Rumpelstiltskin, on the other hand, wouldn't have it any other way.

"So how's Belle doing?" Ruby asked quietly as she returned with his order.

Rumpelstiltskin sighed heavily, running a hand over his haggard face. It was very rare for him to display his exhaustion so openly, for fear of appearing weak, but he was too weary to care. "Recovering. It's been a difficult few days." A sudden draft alerted the pair to a new arrival. The one person he was most eager and fearful to see had just walked in. "And my night is far from over."

Ruby bit her lower bit as she watched the new customer head to a stool at the counter without looking in their direction. He removed his baseball cap and worn work gloves and nodded to Leroy and Dr. Whale. The Three Musketeers of borderline alcoholics, Mr. Gold thought ruefully. So predictable.

Rumpelstiltskin jerked at the sudden pressure on his arm and looked up to find Ruby squeezing his shoulder. "Your coffee's on the house tonight," she whispered in his ear. "Good luck….and try not to break anything!"

It was a few seconds before he managed to find his voice. "Thank you, dear, but I make no promises."

Ruby smirked and quickly made her way back to the bar, handing the new arrival a pint of whatever was on tap without having to be asked. She surreptitiously glanced in Mr. Gold's direction but wisely said nothing.

Rumpelstiltskin had always thought of himself as a coward, but tonight he had to be brave. There was no turning back.

_Do the brave thing and bravery will follow._

"Mr. French," he called across the room.

He could tell the former King, now florist, recognized his voice immediately. Not surprisingly, since the Scottish brogue was ingrained into the minds of everyone in Storybrooke as something to be feared, like the rattle of a poisonous snake or the ticking of a time bomb. Mr. French's back stiffened sharply and his drink paused inches from his mouth. "_Rumpelstiltskin,_" he growled without turning.

Names have power. Most residents opted to keep their Storybrooke names, himself included, for everyday use, while their real (fairtytale) names were used by close friends and family. By referring to him as Rumpelstiltskin, the florist was trying to gain the upper hand. He was trying to show that he knew what Mr. Gold really was underneath the expensive suit; he was nothing but a monstrous imp.

Mr. Gold sighed and slowly raised himself up. He hadn't needed a cane for almost a year now, since he brought magic to this world, but the stress of the last few sleepless nights was catching up to him. He walked slowly to the counter feeling every bit of his impressive age.

_Do the brave thing and bravery will follow._

"Maurice," he said, his voice strong and clear despite his rapidly beating heart. "Would you care to join me?"

Ale flew from Maurice's mouth as he coughed and sputtered. Leroy pounded him on the back, trying to help his bar mate regain his breath.

"And why the bloody Hell would I want to do that, Gold?" he gasped.

_Do the brave thing and bravery will follow._

Mr. Gold took a deep, calming breath before he could trust his voice.

"I was wondering if, maybe, you would like to meet your grand-daughter?"

Silence hung thick in the air as the two men stared at each other. The other customers gawked open mouth not daring to make a sound. Ruby, mesmerized by the silent by-play, didn't even notice the ale overflowing from the mug she was filling, now spilling at her feet.

A sudden, garbled cry from the corner broke the spell and Moe managed to find his voice.

"Grand-daughter?" he asked thickly. "It's a girl?"

"Yes," Mr. Gold replied, smiling. Not one of the imp's mocking smiles or the pawnbroker's intimidating ones, but a real, genuine smile that so few ever got to see. Leroy pounded Moe's back again, this time in celebration.

"Congratulations, Grandpa!" called Dr. Whale, raising his whiskey. "And, uh, _Dad_."

Wanting to get back to his daughter, Rumpelstiltskin gestured for Moe to follow him back to the booth. He quickly took his seat against the wall and adjusted a black wool blanket around a bright pink baby carrier. The precious bundle inside stirred when she heard her father's voice and opened her eyes.

Moe stared into the same bright blue eyes of his only daughter's. She looked at the newcomer but quickly searched out her father, cooing quietly when she found him. Rumpelstiltskin graciously busied himself with her soother to save the new grand-father his dignity after he heard a very un-royal sniffle. He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a monogramed silk handkerchief and handed it to his father-in-law. "Please, sit."

"She's….she's absolutely perfect!" whispered Moe, dabbing his eyes.

"Yes. Yes, she is," replied the proud papa. "Ten fingers, ten toes…" He quickly pulled off the hand knitted beanie from her head and added, "And no horns!"

Moe French, formerly King Maurice, laughed thickly and slapped his son-in-law, the Dark One, on the shoulder appreciatively. Gold laughed along with him, feeling an incredible weight being lifted from his shoulders. Over the past several months he had been plagued with nightmares that his beautiful child (for how could she not be beautiful with a mother like Belle) was taunted and rejected by everyone simply because of who her father is. Poor Bae was ridiculed for being the son of a coward. The last thing he wanted was for his daughter to be scorned for being the spawn of a demon. If Moe was willing to accept her, then maybe there was hope.

Ruby returned to refill their drinks and smiled brightly at the little girl. "She's lovely, Mr. Gold. I think she has your nose." Again she touched his arm, as if she was no longer afraid of the beast. No one ever willingly touched him except for Belle (and of course those trying to kill him, but to be fair, they never really got much of a chance).

"Thank you, dear." He looked at the clock over the bar and reached into a pocket in the carrier. "Would you mind terribly heating this bottle up for me? She'll need to be fed soon."

"Sure thing."

"So where's Belle? How's she doing?" asked Moe once Ruby was gone.

"Belle's fine. She's at home, resting. The birth was difficult for her and she needs her rest. I thought it was best if she had a few hours completely to herself to sleep."

"Difficult how? Were there complications?" Despite their falling-out, Gold recognized Moe's desperate need to know that his daughter was healthy and safe. One never stopped worrying about one's child, no matter how old they get.

"She's been under a lot of stress and that made the pregnancy high risk. She was confined to bed rest for the last few weeks. Between trying to start a new life for herself outside of that blasted cell and constantly worrying about Regina's next move….well, let's just say she hasn't had the easiest time."

"Not to mention," added Moe quietly, "that most of her friends and family have shunned her."

"Yes, there is that," replied Gold grimly, refusing to look accusingly at his wife's estranged father.

Moe cleared his throat loudly and wiped another tear from his eye. "I'm sorry I refused to attend the wedding."

"Ah well, it was not much of a wedding, just a civil ceremony. And no one else came either, except for the cricket," said Gold sadly. "We weren't surprised. I do understand, though. If my little angel here someday tells me she's in love with a monster who once enslaved her….well, to be honest I don't know what I'd do. Probably turn him into a snail and step on him while she wasn't looking."

Moe snorted into his beer and drank deeply. "Fortunately for you, I don't possess that skill. The worst I could do was glare at you behind your back."

Gold smiled and sipped his coffee. If Maurice could show some humility then he could as well. "Once again, I'd like to apologize for nearly killing you last year. If it makes you feel any better I thought I was avenging Belle's death. I realized as soon as she walked into my shop that day that everything the Queen had told me was a lie."

"If our positions had been reversed and it was me that remembered our past lives first…well, let's just say you would have made a great fertilizer for my gardens. The Queen told me _you_ had killed her. I believed her too."

The two men sat silently, each contemplating how easily they had been manipulated, until Ruby returned with the heated bottle of breast milk. With a practiced ease that surprised both the florist and the waitress, Rumpelstiltskin carefully picked up the fragile child, tucked her protectively in the crook of his arm and began to feed her. He mumbled to her softly, as if they were the only people who existed.

"What's her name?" whispered Moe, mesmerized by the Dark One's gentleness.

Gold would love to spend the rest of his life watching his precious little one as she suckled, but he reluctantly raised his head to look Moe in the eye. "Elena."

"_Elena_?" This time Moe French didn't try to stem the tears from falling. "You named her after my wife?"

"We had a difficult time choosing." Gold repositioned his daughter to wipe some spittle from her mouth. "Names have their own power. I was leaning towards Rose for a girl and Chip for a boy. Silly, I know, but they do have special meanings to us. When Belle was finally ready to talk about her imprisonment in the Queen's dungeon, she said she often thought of her mother. How her mother's strength gave her the will to get through another day. I fell in love with your daughter because of her bravery. If she got that from her mother, then to me, this was the perfect way to honor her memory."

They both fell silent for some time after that, Moe nursing his beer while Elena sucked away on her bottle. Eventually her eyes struggled to stay open and remained closed.

"Would you like to hold her?" asked Gold, offering another olive branch.

Moe's hand trembled slightly and his skin paled visibly. "I've…I've never actually held a newborn before."

Mr. Gold prided himself on his poker face, no matter how much something might shock him. This time, however, he failed miserably as he felt his jaw drop. "I don't understand. How can this be? You had a child!"

"I was an arrogant young Prince that was thrust into an arranged marriage," Moe mumbled, running a shaking hand through his thinning hair. "I didn't love her, not at first. While she gave birth, I was out drinking with my knights and playing games of chance, pretending like I didn't give a damn. Truth is I was terrified!" He drank the last of his beer quickly and stared mournfully at the bottom. "When she proudly presented me with our daughter, I was resentful that she wasn't a boy. I ignored my beautiful Belle for the first few months of her life. I've never been more ashamed of anything."

"All parents make mistakes," said Gold quietly. "Perhaps our little princess here can be a fresh start, for all of us."

Elena never stirred when her papa placed her in the waiting, but slightly trembling, arms of her grandfather. "Support her wee head a bit more. That's it."

"You're quite good with her, Gold," said Moe as he stroked her cheek. "I must admit, I'm impressed."

"I'm an old hand at this," he replied. He was hesitant to continue but found the words leaving his lips without his brain telling them to do so. "Truth is…I lost my first wife two days after our son was born. I learned quickly out of necessity."

"You were married? Before, I mean?"

"Aye, back when I was a young lad, during the Great Ogre War. Before I became the Dark One."

"The Great Ogre War? But that was over 600 years ago!"

"Has is it been that long? My, my how time flies!"

"How did you manage to raise a child on your own? Especially back then?"

"Not many men returned from war. I had severely injured my leg but I could manage working the farm. I helped out a young widow as much as I could in exchange for her nursing Bae."

"Why not marry her then? Surely that would have been the most practical thing to do?"

Luana had almost been as disgusted with him as his own wife. He had returned, a disgraced coward, while her own husband was butchered almost beyond recognition. She was desperate enough to accept his deal until Bae was weaned, but wanted nothing more to do with him. However, that was a story only he and Belle knew. He had no desire to have _that_ conversation with anybody.

"You make it sound so easy," he said uncomfortably, running his hands over the table. His eyes fell on Moe's mismatched work gloves. "It's not like replacing a glove when you've lost its mate. My wife was gone. I had no desire for another."

"Until Belle," the former king said sadly.

"Yes," he whispered softly. "No one until Belle."

They fell into another awkward silence, watching Elena sleep, until Ruby returned to top off Gold's coffee. "Mr. French? Ready for another beer?"

"No, not tonight," he replied, sounding surprised at his own words. "I think I'll have some of that coffee though."

Ruby smiled and left to retrieve another mug.

"And what of your son?"

Rumpelstiltskin's hand shook slightly as he sipped his coffee, choosing how to respond. He wasn't quite ready for _that_ conversation either. Not yet at least.

"I lost him as well," he whispered, "just after the war ended. He was fourteen."

"There's nothing more heartbreaking than losing a child." He looked at Gold cautiously and licked his lips. "Can I ask you something?"

"That sounds ominous," said Gold drily, gesturing with his hands. "Go ahead and ask then."

"Why Belle? Why did you take her from me? If you know the pain of losing a child how could you walk into my war council planning on taking her as payment?"

"I didn't." At Moe's confused gaze he added, "Plan on it, I mean." Gold had the decency to look sheepish as he ran his hand through his long hair. "I had every intention of trading my help for the Icarus Scrolls. I understand you had a dusty old library overflowing with ancient and magical documents. They would have been of use to me."

Moe French's face turned a sickening grey before he managed to sputter out his reply. "What made you change your mind?"

"Gaston."

This was obviously not the answer he had been expecting. "Pardon?"

Rumpelstiltskin smiled impishly at the memory. "The shaved monkey you arranged to marry Belle. He _shoved_ her. I found it….distasteful."

"He did no such thing!"

"Oh, yes. Three times in fact. How long was I in that room? Five minutes? After the first time, I paid a bit more attention to her."

He adjusted the tie around his neck, feeling more like a noose in his growing frustration of that memory. "I can sense people's desperation. It's what I do. I could tell that, like everyone else in the room, she was desperate to find an end to that war. However, unlike the others, more than anything, she was desperate to get out of her arranged marriage. She feared him. She feared what she would become, trapped to him forever. She wanted an out…and I gave it to her."

"She _wanted _to leave?" Moe whispered.

"She was loyal to you," Gold clarified. "She would have done anything for you. Whether that meant marrying a man she despised, or giving up her freedom to save your life. She loved you very much. She still does."

The florist closed his eyes and breathed deeply, clearly fighting back tears. When he looked back at his son-in-law it was with a new appreciation. Not quite respect, but no longer loathing. It was a start.

"I never liked Gaston," he said finally. "Truth be told, I thought he was a bloody idiot! But we were at war and he had an army. I can't exactly accuse you of buying her when I clearly sold her first."

He removed one hand from around his grand-daughter and extended it assuredly to Rumpelstiltskin. "I'll make you deal, Gold. You accept my apology and I'll accept yours."

"Deal. I think we could all use a fresh start." They shook hands quickly and firmly. Ruby grinned warmly from across the diner. "Why don't you come over for dinner tomorrow? Miss Swan and her family are coming to have an informal 'war council,' but really it's just an excuse to see Belle and Elena. You're welcome to join us."

"Thank you," he replied hoarsely. "I'd like that."

Rumpelstiltskin carefully tucked his baby girl back into her carrier and kissed her forehead before replacing the hat. As he watched Moe pay for his drinks he couldn't help but feel empathy for him. Moe lost his wife and child, just as he had. The only difference was he was getting a second chance at life with Belle and Elena. Perhaps he should call Charming and convince him to bring his mother along for dinner tomorrow. She would make a lovely queen.

"Aaw, that was sweet, _dad_!" teased Ruby from behind the counter. "I can tell how much he misses Belle. I just never thought I'd see the day when you two were getting along."

"Children change your perspective on life, dearie. He needed an in…and I just gave him one."


End file.
